A man from Devon has been warned he faces jail after he admitted shoving a footballer in the head - a blow that killed him before he hit the ground.

Samuel Binning, 21, pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Jim Hewlett, 24, in the early hours of 1 January outside a takeaway in Cheddar, Somerset.

At Bristol Crown Court, Judge Neil Ford told him there was an "inevitability" he would face a custodial sentence.

Binning, formerly of Cheddar, now living in Crediton, was granted bail.

The court was told all of those present at the scene had consumed a considerable amount of alcohol.

Prosecutor Stephen Mooney said Binning had been striking out at a number of people, in order to get to a friend who was caught up in a fight.

He said witnesses had seen Binning strike Mr Hewlett to the temple and the application of force had been enough that his head moved in such a manner to cause a haemorrhage to develop almost instantaneously.

He added medical evidence showed Mr Hewlett was "dead before he hit the ground".'One hard shove'

The court was told Binning was "not a young man of good character", that he had a history of violence when drunk and on the night in question he had also been consuming Class B drugs.